Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Chapter Seven, Pacifying the Northeast

The vast majority of court officials requested that the war to quell the rebellion be continued.

Some officials were motivated by their long-cherished desire to consolidate centralized power—for example, Yan Zhenqing; some were motivated by fear of the Zhenxi Army; some by blind faith in Li Ji's military strength; and some were swayed by public opinion incited by the Zhenxi Jinzouyuan. There were suggestions to cease hostilities and make peace, but these were quickly drowned out by the criticism and condemnation from both the court and the public.

In the past, when faced with such situations, those who advocated prudence were mostly financial advisors—because the treasury was empty, how could we fight a war without money? I have racked my brains, robbing Peter to pay Paul, and finally managed to make the annual loopholes less noticeable, but you just have to stab me in the back. How can this be tolerated?

However, on the issue of quelling the Huaixi Rebellion, the two ministers unusually remained silent and did not express any clear opinions—which also shows that they were opposed to continuing or even expanding the war, but they just couldn't bring themselves to say it.

The person in charge of finances in Guanzhong was Yang Yan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, who had a close relationship with Li Ji. Li Ji had previously assisted Yang Yan under the command of Shuofang and was recommended by Yang Yan to return to the capital. It can be said that without Li Ji, even if Yang Yan had entered the central government, he would not have regained control of finances so quickly. Given this, how could Yang Yan oppose Li Ji's request to continue the campaign against Huaixi?

Li Shi and Lu Qi both held Yang Yan in low regard, often saying that his talent exceeded his virtue and that he was too self-serving. However, Yang Yan was not entirely without moral character; at least he was grateful and sentimental. For example, after returning to the central court, he frequently spoke well of Yuan Zai to Li Yu, hoping to recall him. Yang Yan's success can be attributed to three great benefactors: the first was Prince Qi, Li Tan; the second was Yuan Zai; and the third was Li Ji—how could he possibly trip up Li Ji at this crucial juncture?

Furthermore, the Guanzhong region was densely populated and had limited land, resulting in insufficient tax revenue. The An Lushan Rebellion, coupled with the need to defend against the barbarians during the autumn harvest, further exacerbated the financial woes of the officials in charge. Adding to the difficulty, the Jiannan West Circuit was controlled by Cui Ning, and the annual grain tribute from Shu was minimal, merely a formality. Thus, Liu Yan held the reins of finance in Guandong for over a decade—only once being ousted from the capital by Li Fuguo and Yuan Zai, a matter of factional strife, not due to any misconduct that disappointed the emperor or the court. In contrast, the finances in Guanzhong had changed hands several times, from Wu Qi to Han Huang and then to Yang Yan.

In recent years, Yang Yan's life has improved somewhat because Li Ji has opened up the Silk Road, and trade has flourished. The market tax revenue collected in Chang'an alone is more than five times what it was when he first took office. Against this backdrop, even if Yang Gongnan doesn't care about past relationships, he dares not offend Li Ji.

Yang Yan remained silent, as did Liu Yan. This was because Li Xilie controlled Bianzhou, and Li Zhengji had seized Cao and Pu prefectures, inevitably impacting the grain transport along the Yangtze and Huai rivers. Liu Shi'an had earned the trust of two emperors by supplying the two capitals with millions of bushels of grain, money, and silk annually from the Yangtze and Huai rivers; without Bianzhou and Cao prefectures, he would have no peace of mind.

Li Yu also planned to make a final peace effort, offering to pardon Li Xilie and others for their rebellion, but demanding that Li Xilie not only return Bianzhou, but also all eleven prefectures including Xu, Chen, Cai, and Ying in Huaixi to the court, ordering him to return to the capital for an audience and be transferred to another prefecture; as for Li Zhengji, he was to hand over the five newly captured prefectures including Cao and Pu; and as for Tian Yue, he was to return the Zhaoyi Army to the Xue family.

Yan Zhenqing submitted a memorial stating, "The envoys' journeys back and forth take more than a day. Your Majesty is lenient, but we must guard against those officials who are incorrigible and take the opportunity to delay. They should also raise more troops to resist the imperial army. We should order the various garrisons to advance and suppress them. We should wait until Li Zhengji and Tian Yue withdraw and seize the prefectures and counties, and Li Xilie comes to court before issuing an edict to withdraw the troops."

The court officials all agreed, leaving Li Yu with no choice but to recall Zhu Ci and appoint Li Ji as the Deputy Marshal of Henan, in command of the troops stationed in Luoyang, the three cities of Heyang, Shaanxi, Guo, Tongguan, Weibo, and Henghai, to advance eastward and expel Li Zhengji. At the same time, Li Yu also ordered Li Sheng to lead the troops of various towns in Guanzhong to attack Huaixi and suppress Li Xilie. Chen Shaoyou, the military governor of Huainan, and Li Mian, the military commissioner of Ezhou and Yuezhou (Wuchang Army), were also placed under his command.

To put it bluntly, the emperor was worried about entrusting too many troops to Li Ji...

After receiving the imperial edict, Li Ji immediately consolidated the troops under his command, using the Shatuo cavalry as the vanguard, and marched from Zhongmu to directly attack Bian and Cao. Li Zhengji led his army to resist, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the Dayeze area within Yunzhou. The government army numbered 40,000, while the Pinglu army numbered 60,000. After twelve days of continuous fighting, Li Zhengji finally succumbed to defeat. Gao Chongwen killed the Pinglu general Wang Wenhui in battle, and Li Ziyi broke through the enemy lines to capture a general, taking Li Zhengji's son, Li Na, prisoner.

Li Zhengji, worried about his son's safety, was forced to send an envoy to persuade Li Ji: "Why is the Grand Commandant pressing us so hard? You are in the western border while I am in the eastern sea. Even if we gain territory, we cannot occupy it, and in terms of merit, we cannot be promoted further. What good will it do you to be pursued so urgently from a thousand miles away?"

Li Ji replied to the envoy with a smile: "How can sparrows know the ambitions of a swan? When I was in Weibo, I originally intended to completely pacify Hebei and Qilu. I released you all after the Western Garrison, but who would have thought that not only are you ungrateful, but you also dare to resist the royal army. If Li Zhengji surrenders himself, then so be it; otherwise, father and son will be publicly executed and left to live on straw! I will not withdraw my troops until Li Zhengji is captured!"

However, despite his strong words and desire to continue the fight, he couldn't make much progress... Firstly, his troops were limited, and secondly, his supplies were insufficient. Ultimately, the Tang court was not prepared with the resources to pacify Guandong in one fell swoop, especially large towns like Zibo, Qingzhou, and Pinglu. Thus, the two sides remained locked in a stalemate in the mountains of western Shandong, engaging in repeated maneuvers for several months.

Thus began the New Year's Day of the fourteenth year of the Dali era, when the Tang court finally ordered a cessation of hostilities.

On the one hand, Li Sheng on the southern front made good progress and, after a fierce attack in the snow for thirteen days, finally captured Ruyang City.

Huaixi is a large town, spanning both banks of the Huai River, and governs eleven prefectures and counties. However, Li Xilie's main force is in Huaibei, and he has set up his base in Ruyang, the capital of Caizhou. Caizhou was originally named Yuzhou, but it was changed to avoid the taboo of Li Yu's name.

In fact, the Huaixi army had already been completely defeated by Li Ji east of Tongguan. Li Xilie fled to Xuzhou and had only just gathered some remnants of his troops. Before he could even reorganize them, Li Sheng led eight thousand troops from Guanzhong on a rapid march. The generals all advised that our army was not yet assembled—there were still seven thousand infantrymen from Longyou who had not yet passed through Tongguan—and that it was not advisable to engage the enemy. However, Li Sheng waved his hand and said, "The Grand Commandant has already dealt a great blow to the enemy, and the rebels have lost all courage. Our army should take advantage of the situation and advance directly. If we delay and wait for them to establish a foothold, it will be more difficult to defeat them."

They then advanced rapidly, first defeating the Huaixi army near Changshe; Li Xilie fled south to Yancheng, but Li Sheng pursued relentlessly, winning three more battles and finally forcing Li Xilie back to Caizhou. Fearing that Li Xilie would escape south across the Huai River, Li Sheng first sent troops to outflank him, occupying Zhenyang County, while simultaneously ordering the Huainan and Ezhou troops to quickly move north and blockade the Huai River. Turning their attention to Ruyang, they scaled the city walls in the snow. Knowing he could not escape, Li Xilie ultimately killed his wife and children with his own hands, then set fire to his government office and died in the flames.

Prior to this, Guo Ziyi, seeing that Henan was secure, ordered the Hedong army to cross the Taihang Mountains, posing as a surprise attack on Chengde. Li Baochen panicked and petitioned the court, offering to punish the Tianxiong army in his honor. Thus, Tian Yue suffered repeated defeats under the combined attack of Li Huaiguang of Weibo and Li Baochen of Chengde, and finally fled alone to Youzhou, where he was lured and killed by Zhu Tao, who then presented his head to Chang'an.

With the Huaixi and Tianxiong military garrisons pacified, the imperial court's eastern expedition had achieved both material and social standing, leaving all the regional military governors in the land terrified. It was time to call it a day—especially since funds and provisions were running out and supplies would be exhausted. Thus, Liu Yan was the first to suggest this, followed by Yang Yan, and even ministers like Yan Zhenqing, who had strongly advocated for war, no longer obstructed the effort, and Li Zhengji's request for surrender was granted.

The condition was that the Pinglu Army be reduced to only six prefectures: Zi, Qing, Deng, Lai, Qi, and Mi. Li Na would remain in Chang'an as the Inspector of the Granary Department—essentially handing over a hostage.

When the imperial edict was issued to the Henan army, Li Ji was at a loss. Although he longed to annihilate Zibo and Qingzhou in one fell swoop, he knew that his army was already at its limit. If he were to attempt to advance further, it would be superfluous and would only lead to defeat. He couldn't help but sigh, "If my 100,000 Zhenxi Army were here, I would surely take Li Zhengji's head!"

Of course, this was just boasting. Although he had great confidence in the fighting power of his own troops, even if only half of the Zhenxi Army were to be sent all the way to Henan, the imperial court would not be able to afford it, let alone the Zhenxi Army itself!

He then relinquished his military command and returned in triumph to Guanzhong. By the time he returned to Chang'an, the Tang court had already redefined the jurisdiction and structure of the various military garrisons east of the pass—

In the Hebei region, the Tianxiong and Zhaoyi armies still govern the local area. Du Huangshang, the former deputy military governor of Weibo, was appointed as the military governor of the Tianxiong army, and Xue Ping, the son of Xue Song, was appointed as the military governor of the Zhaoyi army. As for Xue E, forget about him; he's a useless piece of trash and should stay in Chang'an and do nothing.

In the Henan region, the Xuanwu Army and Zhongwu Army were re-established—the Huaixi Garrison was thus reduced to only five prefectures: Shen, An, Guang, Huang, and Shou, all south of the Huai River—the prefectures of Yan, Yi, and Hai, which were separated from Pinglu, were then governed by the Yanhai Observation Commissioner. Subsequently, Jing Jiang was appointed as the Military Governor of the Xuanwu Army, Wang Rui as the Military Governor of the Zhongwu Army, and Gao Ying as the Observation Commissioner of the Yanhai Observation Commissioner.

Li Ji had never heard of Wang Rui before. After some inquiry, he discovered that Wang Rui was an old acquaintance—it turned out to be the same guy whose original name was Zhen Sui, who later changed it to Qin Rui! That guy had already been demoted to a mere prefectural magistrate, but somehow he managed to curry favor with Wang Jiahe, even becoming Wang Jiahe's father and changing his name to Wang Rui…

Li Ji thought to himself, "People who have no shame are truly invincible. The surname left by our ancestors and the name given by our fathers—we might feel a little ashamed to change it the first time, but this second time, we probably have no psychological burden at all."

Shang Kegu changed his name to Yu Zhide after becoming a disciple of Yu Chaoen, and An Yuanguang changed his name to Luo Yuanguang after becoming a disciple of Luo Fengxian. Becoming the adopted son of a eunuch seems to be quite popular among military generals with weak foundations in recent years. However, Li Yu, compared to his father, doesn't place much trust in eunuchs—though he can't completely abandon them—first he appointed Li Fuguo and then dismissed him, then he appointed Cheng Yuanzhen and then exiled him, and finally he appointed Yu Chaoen and then killed him… Now he favors Dong Xiu and Liu Zhongyi. I wonder how much longer Wang Jiahe can keep his footing…

Li Baochen promptly dispatched troops to serve, and Zhu Tao presented Tian Yue's head. As for Liang Chongyi of Shannan East Circuit, although there were rumors of him heading north to invade the capital, he seemed to have no actual action. In particular, upon hearing that Li Ji had returned east, he rushed to Chang'an to pay his respects, and before the emperor's audience, he first went to the Zhenxi Jinzouyuan to submit a letter... As a result, the court did not punish him for the time being, but only ordered the three towns to send their sons to Chang'an to enter officialdom through hereditary privilege, which was tantamount to handing over hostages.

The troops from all directions returned in triumph, and the imperial court bestowed great rewards upon them. Li Sheng was appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Chancellor, and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Xiping; Li Ziyi was promoted to General of the Left Guard; Generals Luo Yuanguang and Zhu Xie Jinzhong not only received rewards but were also granted the imperial surname—the former was renamed Li Yuanliang, and the latter was renamed Li Jinzhong.

Li Ji thought to himself, "It's fortunate that you, Zhu Xie Jinzhong, were granted the surname Li. This imperial surname can be passed down but not traced back to the past. Otherwise, if your grandfather's original name was Zhu Xie Fuguo, then the Tang Dynasty would have produced another Li Fuguo..."

Li Yu even gave Nie Yinniang a special audience and praised her highly. A few days later, he suddenly had the idea to send someone to propose marriage to Nie Feng, so that his grandson, Prince Li Song of Xuancheng (Li Shi's eldest son, who was eighteen years old), could marry Nie Yinniang as his concubine. Nie Feng was naturally overjoyed and readily agreed. Nie Yinniang was not very happy about it, but she dared not disobey.

However, the emperor and his ministers were both racking their brains over a problem: how should they reward Li Ji?

This time, the three generals went on an expedition—excluding Li Sheng—Zhu Ci suffered a defeat in Henan, and Guo Ziyi was unable to lead the Hedong army to truly cross the Taihang Mountains and enter Hebei, so their achievements were negligible and can be disregarded. Only Li Ji first defeated the Huaixi rebels outside Tongguan, then echoed Zhu Ci, stabilized the eastern capital Luoyang, recovered Zhengzhou, and then defeated the Pinglu army near Dayeze, capturing Li Zhengji's son Li Na alive... It's impossible to just give a few words of praise and call it a day.

But as Li Zhengji said, Li Ji "has no further merit to be promoted to." His current official title is Grand Commandant, ranking first among the Three Dukes. The next highest rank is the Three Masters, but the Three Masters and the Three Dukes are both of the first rank, only half a rank higher. Moreover, the Three Dukes are nominally "assisting the emperor in managing yin and yang, pacifying the country, and governing everything," while the Three Masters are "the emperor's teachers and role models, with no specific duties," merely honorary titles. So, would Li Ji be satisfied with just being promoted to the Three Masters? Besides, he is only forty years old. What if something happens to him in the future?

In terms of titles, Li Ji was already the Prince of Dunhuang, the pinnacle of a subject's power. Although princes were now commonplace and their titles weren't particularly valuable, he was not a member of the imperial family, so it was impossible for him to be granted the title of Prince. Moreover, he was already in a semi-separatist state in Zhenxi—although the amount of tribute he paid to the central court was increasing daily—if he were to be granted the title of Prince again, he would be no different from Nanzhao or Silla.

Some suggested bestowing upon Li Ji the title of "Tongpingzhangshi" (同平章事), appointing him as prime minister. However, on the one hand, Li Ji was unlikely to relinquish his post in Zhenxi and return to the capital to work in the Hall of State Affairs; on the other hand, the title of "Tongpingzhangshi" had become increasingly abused in recent years. Not only did Guo Ziyi and Zhu Ci, who were already in power, hold this title, but even Xue Song, a military governor of an outlying region, had received it, and now it was being bestowed upon Li Sheng as well…

Does "Tong Ping Zhang Shi" mean the same as the prime minister? That was true in the past, but not necessarily now.

As for his official position, Li Ji was the military governor of Zhenxi, and he would certainly not be willing to move to another region—for example, Fengxiang was Xijing and Chengdu was Nanjing, and the military governors of both regions held the title of "Yin," which was theoretically the most prestigious, but Li Ji would definitely not go. Moreover, the imperial court would never divide up any more prefectures and counties to benefit Zhenxi—unless Li Ji himself went west or south to open up new territory.

Unable to reach a decision, Li Yu could only hint to his senior officials—"One of you should privately inquire with Li Ji what he desires. As long as it's not too outrageous, I will grant it." The Grand Censor and Inspector of the Capital Region, Lu Qi, then said, "I was formerly an official under the Grand Commandant, and we share a bond of loyalty. I was just about to host a banquet for the Grand Commandant..."

Finish this testimonial

The book was completed before it reached two million words because I wasn't entirely satisfied with how I wrote it.

To be honest, when I first started writing, I intended to write a relatively light-hearted time-travel novel, focusing on the protagonist's leisurely life of eating, drinking, and having fun. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't ideal. At this point, having followed Li Bi to Guanzhong, the protagonist couldn't possibly have a relaxed life. Thus, starting from the rescue of Suiyang, the novel took a turn for the worse and ultimately slid down a path of bloodshed…

Moreover, the flaws in the first part regarding the slingshot also affected my mood to continue creating, causing some later plots to be rushed. To be honest, I knew that ancient bows and crossbows were powered by the arm, while today's slingshots are powered by the string. I don't know why I made a mistake in the design... and it was inconvenient to modify.

What I find most unsatisfactory is that this novel failed to truly depict the atmosphere of the era; the Tang Dynasty flavor wasn't strong enough. In fact, the Tang Dynasty has its own flavor, and the Song Dynasty has its own spirit; each era should have its own characteristics, and simply including a few names of people, places, and officials isn't enough. Therefore, I feel that since the story has already ended with the expulsion of the barbarians, dragging out the ending is pointless; it would be better to just finish it.

I'm still considering what type of novel I'll write next. I'll probably have to discuss it with my editor. For now, I'll focus on finishing up "Life - The Divine Scepter." This is a Western fantasy novel I co-wrote with some friends twenty years ago. To be honest, the beginning was a bit immature, but starting from the Ruanian War in the middle of the second volume, the writing became relatively polished, the content more profound, and the structure more rigorous. Even today, it's still worth reading. I hope readers will visit and support it, as this is just a compilation of an older work. That book was updated quite frequently, often with double updates, and even the single updates were long chapters of five thousand or even seven thousand words.

Finally, thank you to all my friends for your continued support and encouragement! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++